


Always

by OlicitySmoaky



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 5x20, F/M, Their Love Is So, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 01:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlicitySmoaky/pseuds/OlicitySmoaky
Summary: Post 5x20 fic -- takes place a bit after the episode. Felicity hears a noise at the loft. Oliver comes running.One AU element -- I did not have Chase take or approach William. Didn't want to deal with that immediate threat right now haha.





	Always

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading it! Olicity is rising! So excited about it. I hope you enjoy the story. I did my best, which definitely isn't always perfect -- but it comes from the heart, either way. Happy reading.
> 
> PS suspend belief re: Oliver's recovery time.

Inside a bathroom, at the top of a loft, in the middle of a city filled with every kind of shit storm  a person could think of, stood Felicity Smoak. On this particular evening, she was home studying a very small bruise on the right side of her forehead.  “Another battle scar for Overwatch,” she whispered to no one at all.

She inched over to the linen closet in the tiny room between the bathroom and the bedroom to pull out a towel. Instead of grabbing one of the neatly folded lavender towels stacked up for easiest access, she reached behind them and latched on to a big fluffy green one and brought it forward. She pressed her nose to it. 459 days had long since erased his smell, but if she tried hard enough, she was able to mentally summon it back.

Moments later, under the cascade of warm sprouting water, she let the events of the last two days pour into her mind. She and Oliver had been trapped in the bunker under a three-story ticking time bomb. He’d been near death too many times for her to count. She couldn’t stand the thought of losing him. God, did he really think all that about himself? Prometheus really got to him. He got to her. He tried to rip them apart, but instead, he brought them back together. At that moment, Felicity realized the asshole wasn’t going to win. Anger bubbled inside her at the thought of Prometheus trying to twist Oliver inside and out, even more than the poor guy had been twisted by the circumstances of the last decade of his life. But Oliver was strong, and hell, so was she. They were stronger together, but until he figured out who he was deep down and who he wanted to be, they had to wait on the rebuilding thing. Right now, though, she was damn tired of waiting. She was angry she’d lost Billy. She blamed herself for getting him involved in her life when she knew she was only with him as a sort of experiment, a test to see if she could have a normal life outside of Team Arrow, to see if she could even think about living a separate life from Oliver. She wanted to try at the time, but it had always felt so hollow. The innocent choice had been turned into something grotesque and awful. And now, she  understood what Oliver lived with everyday. But for him, this game had been played on a loop more times than any person should have to endure.

Just as Felicity and her thoughts, turned off along with the faucet in her shower, something loud thunked on the floor of the bedroom. Alarmed, she wrapped Oliver’s old thick green towel around her, sucked in a breath to armor her heart, walked through the little adjoining room and over the bedroom threshold to face whatever the hell it was that was trying to give her a stroke.

To her alarm, a book she kept on her nightstand lay on the floor but the room was empty. Eyes pinned to the open door that led to the upstairs deck between the staircase and her room, she picked up her weapon of choice – her tablet. “Whoever the hell is in here, please understand that I have this place rigged to attack.” She didn’t really, but she could shut off all the lights and shoot out infrared security light streams to scare the shit out of the intruder.

Ten minutes later, Felicity had swept her entire apartment, changed into a knee-length night shirt and socks and called Oliver. Whomever had been there, left through the balcony. Prometheus. It had to be him, but why now? Of course, his little plan hadn’t worked, so he was out to kill her. Had he expected her to die while Oliver escaped? How could he have known. They all knew that Prometheus didn’t want Oliver dead. He wanted him to suffer. He hadn’t grabbed William thankfully. Lyla had him as well as his mother moved to a classified, secured location out of the country. With him safe, maybe Prometheus decided he needed a new target.

Oliver was on his way. Given the distance between the bunker in the loft, she deduced he’d probably be there in five minutes, give or take.

“Felicity!” Okay, so it was take. She rushed over to the door to answer it.

She opened the door to find Oliver in plain clothes with some gear strapped to his back, looking her up and down.

“Are you okay?” he asked her for what seemed like the twentieth time in the last forty-eight hours. When he stepped inside, he neatly removed one of his arrows and began scoping out the apartment.  

“Yes, but how did you get here so fast?”

Rather than answer her, Oliver’s eyes scoped the apartment for danger.

“I swept the place already. No one’s here.” He looked like he wanted to check a second time. Nothing wrong with double-checking Oliver, but the words pulled taut between them like a tight rope. _“Do you trust me?”_ His shoulders dropped, relaxed.

“Okay. You think it was Chase?”

“Could have been.”

“Do you want me to check a second time? I trust you. I meant that. But I—I just need you safe, always.”

“I know, Oliver. And, if you want to check again, I won’t be mad,” she said, going over to the two laptops she had set up on the table. She powered both on. “I haven’t had a chance to look through my security yet.”

He followed close behind her. “Let’s look together.”

After a few taps and clicks, they found nothing. The last few minutes when she’d been in the shower had been wiped. She didn’t keep a camera in the bathroom or bedroom and turned them off when she was downstairs. No one was on the balcony either. Maybe it had been her imagination.

“Do you think it was maybe Helix?” Oliver asked, his eyes flashing with guarded concern. He was holding back judgment for her sake. “They could have wiped the system.” A few more clicks and taps told them that she had not been hacked.

“Sorry to call you over here. Maybe I knocked the book to the edge of the table before I went into the bathroom and it fell.”

“Maybe. Yeah. But just to be safe, I want to stay here tonight.”

She watched as he licked his lips, a serious and somewhat pained plea in his eyes. No. She shouldn’t give in. He needed more time. This was too fast. “Oliver, that’s not—“

“Please, Felicity?”

“I don’t know.” She fastened her eyes to the floor beneath her socked feet, pinching her lips in a line. “I already imposed on you last night.”

“By insisting on a cot to sleep on in the smallest recovery room known to man at ARGUS next to me?”

“You’re still recovering. You should sleep in your own bed,” said Felicity. As soon as the words slipped from her lips, her heart stung. His bed hadn’t been hers for far too long, and that wasn’t right. She knew it wasn’t, but they still needed time, didn’t they?

***

Her hair was down. Her glasses were on. She wore one of those long shirts she loved with a sports team name painted on it she didn’t care about – the Coast City Cardinals was the one she’d picked for the night. His heart squeezed at the knowledge of such an intimate Felicity Smoak detail. He knew so much about her. And Felicity? She knew as much about him as he did himself, but it still it wasn’t enough. He hadn’t done enough.

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Oliver promised, watching her press the lips he needed to taste in that weakened moment together. He pushed back the urge with practiced ease.

“As opposed to my bed?” she quipped. She was treading on dangerous ground.

“Or the guest room down here,” he offered instead. “I think it’d be better if I kept watch…”

Felicity sighed. “All right. But just for tonight.”

Oliver released the weighted breath that had lodged itself in his chest and looked at his Felicity, blinking slowly, drinking the sight of her delicate features in. Rarely did he allow himself to do that anymore. He’d known she didn’t want him to. She’d told him she wasn’t ready for him again nearly a year ago after one of the most fun and passionate nights of his adult life, and he’d taken that to heart.  But now, things were different. She’d opened a door for them. And he’d uncoiled the depths of his soul to her while trapped by a mad man in a world they’d created – the Arrow bunker. He admitted his fears, told her the harshest most confusing truth he’d been battling. Then she’d come in and balmed his wounded spirit with gentle fingers stroking his sweaty skin as breath fought to stay in his body. She reminded him of the self he could be when looked at through her loving blue eyes.

He smiled at her, and felt his heart melt when she returned it, fully bloomed, bright and beautiful. “For at least tonight.”

She rolled her eyes. “Netflix Originals marathon then. I’ll pick five I approve of, then you can pick which one you want to see from there.”

Oliver chuckled. “I remember the routine well.”

“You need guidance when it comes to that kind of thing and you know it.”

“Wanna order Chinese?” Oliver asked.

Felicity looked over her shoulder at him with a hiked up eyebrow. “You know what happened the last time we had Chinese alone together.”

“No, I don’t remember. Could you refresh my memory?” He didn't bother holding back a grin.

“Sit down and rest. I’ll call a pizza from Vinny’s.”

“Fair enough.”

Not too many hours later, they were several episodes into Stranger Things. It was Felicity’s second time watching and Oliver’s first – clearly since he did not ever consider watching television for recreation when he wasn’t with her or Thea. Oliver’s eyes slid down to the box of half eaten pizza and empty wine glasses. Felicity was nearly a foot away from him on the sofa, feet curled under thighs that her night shirt hardly hid. He watched her as the blue lights painted her face in a color softer and less frightening than the violet luminescence that allowed them to see when they’d been trapped in the bunker. It was television light, normal light, a light he’d see in the evenings when he sat cuddled beside her in Ivy town, on late nights when Arrow business was dead when they’d been together all those months, the light he pictured seeing when they had a family together – a life outside of being heroes. But that’s what he was, or at least, that was what Felicity believed him to be, and maybe she was right. He was far from perfect, and he was only a man. But he did the best he could, and yes, he liked killing – but maybe not in the way Chase wanted him to admit. Perhaps, he liked it because he was ridding the world of their ugly cold abusive souls. But he didn’t want to think about that right now. Right now, he wanted her in his arms. The urge was so strong, so overwhelming it nearly swallowed his heart.

“Felicity…” he choked out in a tangled whisper. When she turned to him, he added a soft, “Hey.”

She smiled, smooth and relaxed, then sucked her pretty lips between her teeth.

“I miss you, you know,” said Oliver.

Felicity released her lips and let out one of those loud types of sighs – one he couldn’t quite read.

She inched closer and closer to him then before he knew what was happening, she was in his lap, framing his face between her palms. She pressed a soft kiss to one stubbled cheek then the other. “I’m so glad you’re alive, Oliver, and that you’re here with me.”

“Felicity…” His eyes locked on to the smooth skin of her neck. He wanted so badly to suckle it, reacquaint himself with her sweetness.

She kissed his forehead and let out a shaky breath, making his heart knock in his chest. “I miss you, too, Oliver. All the time, but I want to wait for you.”

She pressed her lips to his. The sigh he let out was desperate and needy, but damn it, how could he care? This was the only human on earth that allowed him to be this vulnerable. She pulled back for a brief moment, warm air dancing between their lips, the electricity of hope mingling with it. Then they were kissing for the first time in far too long. He slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her whimper spurred him further on, but he held back not wanting to push her any further than she was willing to go. Her fingers clutching the fabric of his t-shirt filled his heart. He was home. He knew who he was when he was with her. God, did he know. He cupped her face in his rough hands and angled his head so he could access the sweet tang of her mouth in the way he wanted – reverently and purposefully. Gentle kisses between hungry insatiable ones took up several more minutes until Felicity tore her lips away and pressed her forehead against his. “I love you, Oliver. You know that, right?”

Heart shoved into his throat, he asked. “Still?”

“Always,” she whispered. He tucked her tiny hand between his two large one as if it was the most precious thing in the world and then brought her knuckles to his lips. He sighed then moved their now twined fingers to his heart.

“I love you, too, Felicity. And I trust you. Forever.”

He could see her eye shining in the glow from the television. “We’re gonna make it through this. _You’re_ gonna make it through this,” she said. “I promise.”

They cuddled together for a few more minutes, watching the TV finish the episode they’d mostly missed, until Felicity yawned and announced she was heading up to bed. His thumb brushed against the little purple bruise above her eyebrow. “I hate it when you get hurt.”

“But we always save each other, right?”

“Always.”

He helped her clear their wine glasses, the pizza box and straighten up the living room.  “Well, goodnight, Felicity.”

“Goodnight,” she said, walking toward the staircase that led to her bedroom. She stopped and turned around. “Aren’t you coming?”

Oliver’s jaw dropped open, then he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. When he saw she was waiting with expectant eyebrows high on her forehead, he grinned. He wasn’t going to argue. “Yes, ma’am.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos loved. Comments make me smile. ❤️


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